'Words' in the Bible

The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and told me:I have now filled your mouth with My words.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:Because you have spoken this word,I am going to make My wordsbecome fire in your mouth.These people are the wood,and the fire will consume them.

Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.

But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

“Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

You must tell them: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,

The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out.

They have returned to the sins of their ancestors who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.

Your words were found, and I ate them.Your words became a delight to meand the joy of my heart,for I am called by Your name,Yahweh God of Hosts.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says:If you return, I will restore you;you will stand in My presence.And if you speak noble words,rather than worthless ones,you will be My spokesman.It is they who must return to you;you must not return to them.

But I have not run away from being Your shepherd,and I have not longed for the fatal day.You know my words were spoken in Your presence.

“Go down at once to the potter’s house; there I will reveal My words to you.”

Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or an oracle from the prophet. Come, let’s denounce him and pay no attention to all his words.”

and go out to the Valley of Hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city—and on all its dependent villages—all the disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying My words.’”

But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that this house will become a ruin.”

Concerning the prophets:My heart is broken within me,and all my bones tremble.I have become like a drunkard,like a man overcome by wine,because of the Lord,because of His holy words.

This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord’s mouth.

If they had really stood in My council,they would have enabled My people to hear My wordsand would have turned them back from their evil waysand their evil deeds.

Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets”—the Lord’s declaration—“who steal My words from each other.

But no longer refer to the burden of the Lord, for each man’s word becomes his burden and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of Hosts, our God.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words,

I will bring on that land all My words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.

“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all Judah’s cities that are coming to worship there. Do not hold back a word.

and by listening to the words of My servants the prophets I have been sending you time and time again, though you did not listen,

The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the temple of the Lord.

Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and the people, “The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this temple and city.

Another man was also prophesying in the name of Yahweh—Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like all those of Jeremiah.

King Jehoiakim, all his warriors, and all the officials heard his words, and the king tried to put him to death. When Uriah heard, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a lie to you.

Then I spoke to the priests and all these people, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They are prophesying to you, claiming, “Look, very soon now the articles of the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon.” They are prophesying a lie to you.

The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may He restore the articles of the Lord’s temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place!

I will do this because they have not listened to My words”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that I sent to them with My servants the prophets time and time again. And you too have not listened.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Write down on a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you,

These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah.

So Jeremiah the prophet related all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem

“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: Will you not accept discipline by listening to My words?”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

“The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again, and you have not obeyed Me!

“Take a scroll, and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah’s reign until today.

So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. At Jeremiah’s dictation, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah.

so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. You must also read them in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities.

So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.

Then at the Lord’s temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll.

When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll,

Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.

When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.”

Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us—how did you write all these words? At his dictation?”

Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

As they heard all these words, the king and all of his servants did not become terrified or tear their garments.

After the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

“Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord that He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:

When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard.

“Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill My words for harm and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day.

So Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard. I will now pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and every word that the Lord answers you I will tell you; I won’t withhold a word from you.”

When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God—all these words the Lord their God had sent him to give them—

This will be a sign to you’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘that I am about to punish you in this place, so you may know that My words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.

This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.

Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud.

Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.’”The words of Jeremiah end here.